Alberta Couple Take Ottawa to Court Over Privacy Concerns With Census Asking Health and Gender Identity Questions

Signage marks the Statistics Canada offices in Ottawa in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Sean KilpatrickAn Alberta couple has filed an application for judicial review over the compulsory long-form census, and is asking federal court to strike down portions of the census relating to health, sexual orientation and gender identity that it says infringe on constitutional privacy rights.Households which received the 2026 census in early May were required to provide accurate and full information or face a fine of up to $500 on summary conviction, with Statistics Canada saying that failure to complete the questionnaire could lead to further penalties.